JP2020087217A - Information providing system, server, onboard device, vehicle, program and information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve prediction accuracy of clearing of a traffic jam to contribute convenience for a user.SOLUTION: An information providing system 1 has a server 10 and an onboard device 11 which transmits and receives information to and from the server 10. The onboard device 11 has an imaging section for imaging a vicinity of a vehicle, and a first transmission section for transmitting position information and captured image data to the server 10. The server 10 has a removal state information generation section for generating removal state information including a position of a road obstacle and a predicted time required to remove the road obstacle on the basis of the captured image data, and a second transmission section for transmitting the removal state information. The removal state information transmitted from the server 10 is output in another onboard device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to an information providing system, a server, an in-vehicle device, a vehicle, a program, and an information providing method.

A method for supporting driving a vehicle during a traffic jam has been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, the position of the preceding vehicle of the own vehicle with respect to the beginning of the traffic jam is determined, the behavior of the preceding vehicle is predicted based on the position of the preceding vehicle, and the following traveling of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle is controlled. There is disclosed a vehicle control device that does.

JP, 2011-068308, A

However, even if the technique of Patent Document 1 can support the control of the own vehicle during the traffic jam, it is not always easy for the user to grasp the purpose of eliminating the traffic jam itself. If the accuracy of the traffic congestion elimination prediction is low, the user may feel stress. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the accuracy of traffic congestion elimination prediction.

Therefore, in view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing system or the like relating to traffic congestion elimination prediction that improves the accuracy of traffic congestion elimination prediction and contributes to the convenience of the user.

An information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a server and an in-vehicle device that transmits and receives information to and from the server, and the in-vehicle device includes an image capturing unit that captures an image around the vehicle, position information, and captured image data. And a first transmission unit for transmitting to the server, the server based on the captured image data, removal status information including the position of the road obstacle and the estimated time taken to remove the road obstacle. It has a removal status information generation unit to generate and a second transmission unit to transmit the removal status information, and the removal status information transmitted from the server is output to another in-vehicle device.

A server according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives, from the in-vehicle device, captured image data of a captured image of the surroundings of a vehicle captured by the in-vehicle device in a predetermined vehicle condition. Based on the removal status information generation unit that generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove the obstacle on the road, and a transmission unit that transmits the removal status information to another in-vehicle device.

An in-vehicle device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes an image capturing unit that captures an image of a vehicle surroundings in a predetermined vehicle state, and a transmitting unit that transmits captured image data to a server. Removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle is generated based on image data, the removal status information is transmitted to another in-vehicle device, and the removal status information is output in the other in-vehicle device. ..

An in-vehicle device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes, from the server, removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, which is generated based on captured image data received from another in-vehicle device by a server. A receiving unit for receiving,
And an output unit that outputs the removal status information.

A program according to another aspect of the present disclosure causes an in-vehicle device to execute a procedure of capturing an image of a vehicle periphery in a predetermined vehicle state and a procedure of transmitting captured image data to a server, and the server, Based on the captured image data, the removal status information including the estimated time taken to remove the obstacle on the road is generated, the removal status information is transmitted to the other in-vehicle device, and the removal status information is output in the other in-vehicle device. It

A program according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes, in an in-vehicle device, removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, which is generated based on captured image data received from another in-vehicle device by a server, The procedure of receiving from the server and the procedure of outputting the removal status information are executed.

An information providing method according to another aspect of the present disclosure is executed by a server and an in-vehicle device that transmits and receives information to and from the server, the in-vehicle device captures an image of a vehicle periphery, and position information and captured image data are stored in the server. And the server generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle based on the captured image data, sends the removal status information, and another in-vehicle device sends the removal status information from the server. The removal status information is output.

According to the information providing system and the like in the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information providing system and the like that improves the accuracy of traffic congestion elimination prediction and contributes to user convenience.

It is a figure which shows the structure of an information provision system. It is a figure which shows the structure of a server. It is a figure which shows the structure of an in-vehicle apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation procedure of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation procedure of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation procedure of a server. It is a figure which shows the example of a captured image. It is a figure which shows the example of a captured image. It is a figure which shows the example of a captured image. It is a figure which shows the example of a captured image. It is a figure which shows the example of removal time DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of removal status information.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information providing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information providing system 1 includes a server 10 and an in-vehicle device 11 mounted on the vehicle 14. The vehicle 14 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited to this, and may be any vehicle that the user can ride in. The in-vehicle device 11 has either or both of a navigation function and an imaging function. The server 10 and the vehicle-mounted device are connected to each other via a network 13 so as to be able to perform data communication with each other by wire or wirelessly. The information providing system 1 may include a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices 11 mounted on a plurality of vehicles 14, respectively. In such a configuration, the server 10 and the vehicle-mounted device 11 each transmit and receive various information.

The vehicle 14 may be caught in a traffic jam while traveling. One of the causes of congestion is the blockage of lanes due to road obstacles. During a traffic jam, the vehicle 14 exhibits a characteristic vehicle state such as frequent use of brakes and low speed traveling. When the vehicle-mounted device 11 captures an image around the vehicle by using such a vehicle state as a trigger, a road obstacle is captured with high probability. The server 10 collects captured image data from the vehicle 14 and generates removal status information including a predicted time until completion of removal of a road obstacle from the captured image data. Then, the server 10 transmits the removal status information to the in-vehicle device 11. Then, the vehicle-mounted device 11 outputs the removal status information. By doing so, for example, the user can use the imaging result of another vehicle 14 via the server 10 and grasp the estimated time until the removal of the obstacle on the road is completed from the removal status information. As described above, according to the information providing system 1, it is possible to improve the accuracy of prediction of removal of the cause of the traffic jam. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of prediction of congestion elimination and contribute to the convenience of the user.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the server 10. The server 10 includes a communication unit 20, a storage unit 21, and a control unit 22. The server 10 is one or a plurality of computers that can communicate with each other.

The communication unit 20 includes one or more communication modules connected to the network 13. For example, the communication unit 20 may include a communication module compatible with a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard. In the present embodiment, the server 10 is connected to the network 13 via the communication unit 20.

The storage unit 21 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 21 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 21 stores arbitrary information used for the operation of the server 10, a control/processing program, and a database. The storage unit 21 also stores a removal time DB 23 having a removal time for road obstacles. Details of the removal time DB 23 will be described later.

The control unit 22 has one or more processors. Each processor is a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing, but is not limited to these. The control unit 22 controls the operation of the server 10 according to the control/processing program stored in the storage unit 21. Further, the control unit 22 has a timekeeping function for grasping the current time.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 11. The in-vehicle device 11 includes an input/output unit 30, a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a detection unit 33, an imaging unit 34, a navigation unit 35, and a control unit 36. The in-vehicle device 11 may be a single device or may be composed of a plurality of devices.

The input/output unit 30 has an input interface that detects a user input and sends the input information to the navigation unit 35, the control unit 36, and the like. Such an input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitance key, a touch screen provided integrally with a panel display, a microphone that receives a voice input, or the like, but is not limited to these, and any input interface may be used. Good. Further, the input/output unit 30 has an output interface for outputting information generated by the navigation unit 35 or the control unit 36 or acquired from the server 10 to the user. Such an output interface is, for example, a panel display that outputs information as an image/video, a head-up display, a speaker that outputs information as audio, or the like, but is not limited to these and may be any output interface.

The communication unit 31 has one or more communication modules. The communication module includes, for example, a module compatible with mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) and 5G (5th Generation). The communication unit 31 may have a communication device such as a DCM (Data Communication Module). The in-vehicle device 11 is connected to the network 13 via the communication unit 31 and performs data communication with the server 10. Further, the communication module includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving module. The vehicle-mounted device 11 receives the GPS signal by the communication unit 31.

The storage unit 32 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 32 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or the like, but is not limited to these. Each memory functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 32 stores arbitrary information used for the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 11. For example, the storage unit 32 may store a control/processing program, embedded software, and the like.

The detection unit 33 includes various sensors that detect, for example, vehicle speed, brake braking, acceleration, steering angle, yaw rate, ON/OFF of auto cruise control, and the like. The detection unit 33 sends the detection results of various sensors to the navigation unit 35 and the control unit 36 in a predetermined cycle.

The imaging unit 34 realizes the imaging function of the vehicle-mounted device 11. The image capturing unit 34 includes, for example, one or more of a camera that captures an image of a scene or subject in front of the vehicle 14 in the traveling direction, in the side direction of the vehicle 14, and behind the vehicle 14. The camera included in the imaging unit 34 may be a monocular camera or a stereo camera. The image capturing unit 34 captures an image of a landscape or subject outside the host vehicle, generates captured image data, and sends the captured image data to the control unit 36.

The navigation unit 35 realizes the navigation function of the vehicle-mounted device 11. The navigation unit 35 includes one or more processors that execute processing related to route guidance. The navigation unit 35 acquires map information from the storage unit 32 and input information by the user from the input/output unit 30. The navigation unit 35 also acquires from the control unit 36 the current position (for example, latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 14 detected by the control unit 36. The navigation unit 35 presents information for route guidance to the user via the input/output unit 30 based on the information input by the user, the current position, and the like. Furthermore, the navigation unit 35 acquires the roadside obstacle removal status information and the captured image data from the server 10 via the communication unit 31, and presents it to the user via the input/output unit 30.

The control unit 36 has one or more processors. Each processor is a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing, but is not limited to these. For example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 14 may function as the control unit 36. The control unit 36 centrally controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 11. Further, the control unit 36 has a timekeeping function for grasping the current time.

The operation of the information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. 4A, 4B, and 5 are flowcharts showing the operation of the information providing system 1 in this embodiment. 4A and 4B show an operation procedure of the vehicle-mounted device 11. FIG. 5 shows an operation procedure of the server 10. 6A to 6C show examples of captured image data in the forward direction of the vehicle 14. FIG. 7 shows an example of the removal time DB 23. Then, FIG. 8 shows a display example of removal status information and the like in the in-vehicle apparatus 11.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the vehicle-mounted device 11 detects a predetermined vehicle state (step S400). The predetermined vehicle state may indicate that the vehicle is caught in a traffic jam, for example, braking of a brake, low-speed traveling (for example, a vehicle speed is 5 km/hour or less), acceleration from a stopped state or a substantially stopped state to a low speed, and automatic cruise control. Use, or a combination of these. For example, the control unit 36 acquires a detection result from the detection unit 33 at a predetermined cycle (for example, a cycle of several milliseconds to several seconds), and detects a vehicle state indicating congestion. It should be noted that any method such as machine learning may be used to detect the vehicle state indicating congestion.

When the predetermined vehicle state is detected, the in-vehicle device 11 captures an image of the vehicle surroundings (step S402). For example, the control unit 36 instructs the image capturing unit 34 to capture an image, and the image capturing unit 34 captures an image of a landscape/subject outside the vehicle. Here, when the vehicle is located, for example, near the beginning of a traffic jam section, the captured image is highly likely to include a road obstacle that is a cause of traffic jam as a scenery/subject outside the vehicle. The obstacles on the road are, for example, an accident vehicle, a rock fall, a fallen tree, a snowfall, and a large animal that has been killed.

Next, the vehicle-mounted device 11 transmits the captured image data, the captured time, and the position information to the server 10 (step S404). In the vehicle-mounted device 11, the control unit 36 acquires captured image data from the image capturing unit 34, and acquires the image capturing time by the internal time counting function. The control unit 36 also acquires a GPS signal at the time of image capturing from the communication unit 31 and detects the current position of the vehicle 14 from the GPS signal. Then, the control unit 36 transmits the captured image data, the captured time, and the detected position information to the server 10 by the communication unit 31.

As shown in FIG. 5, the server 10 receives the captured image data, the capturing time, and the position information from the vehicle-mounted device 11 (step S500). In the server 10, for example, the control unit 22 receives the picked-up image data, the picked-up time, and the position information from the vehicle-mounted device 11 by the communication unit 20. In the server 10, the in-vehicle devices 11 of the plurality of vehicles 14 cyclically perform the steps S400 to S404, respectively, so that images are captured by different in-vehicle devices 11 passing through the positions for each position on the map. The captured plurality of captured image data are acquired.

Then, the server 10 detects a road obstacle from the captured image data for each position (step S501), and determines the removal status of the road obstacle (step S502). Then, the server 10 generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove the on-road obstacle according to the type of the on-road obstacle and the removal status (step S503). The control unit 22 of the server 10 that executes the steps S501 to S503 and generates the removal status information corresponds to the “removal status information generation unit”.

The removal status information generation unit, for example, according to the position information attached to the captured image data, for each position on the map, the image recognition processing such as edge recognition and image pattern recognition from the captured image, the object on the road or near the roadside. To detect. Then, the removal status information generation unit detects a road obstacle from the captured image and determines the type of the road obstacle. The removal status information generation unit also determines the removal status of the road obstacle from the captured image. The removal status is determined in one to several stages for each type of road obstacle. Note that any method such as machine learning may be used for the image recognition processing on the captured image data. Then, the removal status information generation unit acquires, from the removal time DB 23, a predicted time taken to remove the road obstacle according to the type of the road obstacle and the removal status.

6A to 6D show examples of captured images at the time of traffic congestion, which are captured by the in-vehicle device 11 of the vehicle 14 in response to the characteristic vehicle state at the time of traffic congestion. 6A is a captured image of a preceding vehicle during a traffic jam, FIG. 6B is an captured image of a road obstacle, and FIGS. 6C and 6D are captured images of a road obstacle removal operation at the same position as in FIG. 6B. Is.

In FIG. 6A, the removal status information generation unit detects the preceding vehicle 62 in addition to the road 61 from the captured image 60a. Here, no road obstacles are detected. That is, the picked-up image 60a is a picked-up image picked up in a traffic jam section other than the vicinity of the road obstacle causing the traffic jam. Therefore, at this time, the removal status information generation unit determines, for example, the type of the road obstacle is “not applicable” and the removal status is “not applicable”.

In FIG. 6B, the removal status information generation unit detects a road obstacle 65 in addition to the road 61 and the preceding vehicle 62 from the captured image 60b. That is, the picked-up image 60b is a picked-up image picked up near an obstacle on the road that causes traffic congestion. The removal status information generation unit distinguishes the road obstacle 65 from the preceding vehicle 62 and determines the type. Here, a case where the road obstacle 65 is an accident vehicle is shown. The accident vehicle is identified based on the position on the road, the direction of the vehicle body, the lighting of a hazard lamp, the characteristic shape due to damage, and the like. Further, it recognizes the lane guidance sign 64 installed on the road, and determines that it is located within a predetermined range (for example, in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 14) and within a distance range (for example, within 20 to 30 meters) from the sign 64. The condition for identifying the accident vehicle may be used. When the road obstacle 65 is a rock fall, a fallen tree, a snowfall, or a large dead animal, it is possible to recognize the characteristic shape or color of the obstacle, the size of the image (for example, the number of lanes that interfere with each other), and the like. The removal status information generation unit identifies the road obstacle 65. Further, the past, that is, the normal time captured image data at the same position is stored in, for example, the storage unit 21, and the removal status information generation unit digitizes the difference from the past captured image data to determine whether the numerical value is large or small. The presence or absence of an obstacle on the road may be determined. At this time, the removal status information generation unit determines that the removal status is “progress level 0”, for example. Furthermore, the removal status information generation unit specifies the position where the captured image is captured as the position of the road obstacle 65. In the subsequent processing, the processing of the captured image data captured at a position other than the position of the road obstacle 65 may be omitted.

In FIG. 6C, the removal status information generation unit detects, from the captured image 60c, a work vehicle 66 such as a tow truck or a truck for removing obstacles in addition to the road obstacle 65. In this way, when the work vehicle 66 is detected in addition to the road obstacle 65, the removal status information generation unit determines, for example, the type of the road obstacle is “accident vehicle” and the removal status is “progress level 1”. The work vehicle 66 may be different depending on the type of the road obstacle 65. For example, when the road obstacle 65 is covered with snow, the work vehicle 66 may be a snowplow.

In FIG. 6D, the removal status information generation unit detects, from the captured image 60d, the work vehicle 68 that cleans the debris 67 after the road obstacles are substantially removed. For example, the debris 67 and the work vehicle 68 are detected by image size and pattern recognition, respectively. In this way, when the work vehicle 68 is detected, the removal status information generation unit determines that the type of road obstacle is “accident vehicle” and the removal status is “progress level 2”, for example. When the road obstacle 65 is snow, the presence or absence of the road obstacle 65 and the presence of the debris 67 can be determined by the remaining amount of snow. For example, if the amount of snow covered by the image recognition is larger than a certain amount, it may be determined that it is the road obstacle 65, and if it is small, it is the wreckage 67. In that case, a snowplow may be detected as the work vehicle 68.

When the removal of the road obstacle 65 is completed and the vehicle traffic is restored, the state of FIG. 6A is restored. At this time, the removal status determination unit determines that the type of road obstacle is “not applicable” and the removal status is “not applicable”.

When the removal status information generation unit determines the type and removal status of the on-road obstacle 65, the removal status information removal unit refers to the removal time DB 23 to remove the on-road obstacle corresponding to the type and removal status of the on-road obstacle 65. Get the estimated time. As shown in FIG. 7, the removal time DB 23 has, for example, a road obstacle type 71 and a removal status 72 in association with a predicted time 73. The prediction time may be statistically calculated based on past performance values, but may be set arbitrarily. For example, in the case of FIG. 6A, the road obstacle type 71 is “not applicable”, the removal status 72 is “not applicable”, and the corresponding predicted time 73 is “0 hour”. Further, for example, in the case of FIG. 6B, the road obstacle type 71 is “accident vehicle”, the removal status 72 is “progress degree 0”, and the corresponding predicted time 73 is “5 hours”. Further, for example, in the case of FIG. 6B, the road obstacle type 71 is “accident vehicle”, the removal status 72 is “progress level 1”, and the corresponding predicted time 73 is “2.5 hours”. Further, for example, in the case of FIG. 6C, the road obstacle type 71 is “accident vehicle”, the removal status 72 is “progress level 2”, and the corresponding predicted time 73 is “0.5 hour”.

Returning to FIG. 5, the server 10 transmits the removal status information including the position of the road obstacle and the predicted time to the in-vehicle device 11 (step S505). The removal status information may further include captured image data at the time of generation of the removal status information, or in addition to this, imaging time. For example, the control unit 22 causes the communication unit 41 to transmit the generated removal status information.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the in-vehicle device 11 receives the removal status information and the captured image data from the server 10 (step S410) and outputs (step S412). For example, in the in-vehicle device 11, the control unit 36 outputs the removal status information as an image on the panel display of the input/output unit 30. The in-vehicle device 11 may display, for example, the predicted time included in the removal status information, or the captured image and the captured time in addition to the predicted time. The procedure of FIG. 4B may be executed by the vehicle-mounted device 11 mounted in the vehicle 14 different from the vehicle-mounted device 11 that executes the procedure of FIG. 4A. In that case, the vehicle-mounted device 11 that executes the procedure of FIG. 4A and the vehicle-mounted device 11 that executes FIG. 4B may not have all the configurations shown in FIG. 3, respectively. The in-vehicle device 11 uses the imaging result from the vehicle 14 running near the road obstacle that is already causing the traffic congestion via the server 10 even if the vehicle 14 itself is not involved in the traffic congestion, and The removal status can be presented to the user.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the navigation unit 35 guides the route from the current position to the destination, the vehicle-mounted apparatus 11 uses the route information generated by the navigation unit 35 as the route guidance screen 80 by the input/output unit 30, for example. Display output. Then, on the route guidance screen 80, the current position 81, the destination 82, and the route 83 are shown on the map. When the vehicle-mounted device 11 receives the removal status information when a road obstacle occurs, the route guidance screen 80 further displays the position 84 of the road obstacle, the estimated time 85 required for removal, and the imaging time 87. Here, for example, a case is shown in which the predicted time until the removal of the obstacle on the road is 20 minutes. The position 84 of the road obstacle or the predicted time 85 may be output by voice output. Furthermore, the captured image 86 may be displayed when the vehicle is stopped so as not to interfere with driving. In this way, the user of the vehicle 14 can grasp the estimated time until the removal of the road obstacle is completed from the removal status information, and can intuitively grasp the road obstacle removal status from the captured image. , It is possible to reduce the possibility that the user will feel stress.

Further, when the position 84 of the road obstacle is located on the route 83, the navigation unit 35 searches the detour route 88 and presents it to the user before being caught in the traffic jam near the road obstacle. In this way, by acquiring the captured image data from the vehicle 14 already running near the obstacle on the road by the server 10, it is possible to receive information from the server 10 in advance, which contributes to avoiding traffic congestion.

In the information providing system 1, the vehicle-mounted device 11 and the server 10 periodically execute the procedures of FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5, respectively, to update the removal status of road obstacles based on the captured images that change from moment to moment. And then present it to the user. For example, when the removal status information generation unit determines the removal status (step S503 in FIG. 5), a temporal change from the captured image used in the immediately previous determination to the current captured image, for example, transition from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B. Based on changes such as the appearance of the road obstacle 65, the appearance of the work vehicle 66 at the time of transition from FIG. 6B to FIG. 6C, or the appearance of the work vehicle 68 at the time of transition from FIG. 6C to FIG. A new judgment can be made and the estimated time can be updated.

In the operation procedure of the server 10 described in FIG. 5, for example, road obstacle detection (procedure S501) and removal status determination (procedure S502) may be executed by the in-vehicle device 11. In that case, after step S402 in FIG. 4A, the control unit 36 of the vehicle-mounted device 11 performs steps S501 and S502, transmits the detection result and the like to the server 10, and the server 10 performs the estimated time derivation (step S503). Good.

Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and the embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various variations and modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions or the like included in each means or each step can be rearranged so as not to logically contradict, and a plurality of means or steps or the like can be combined into one or divided. . Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 22 of the server 10 and the control unit 36 of the vehicle-mounted device 11 read out the programs describing the procedure for executing the above-described operations from the storage units 21 and 32 and execute the programs. Therefore, a program that causes the control unit 22 of the server 10 and the control unit 36 of the vehicle-mounted device 11 to perform the operations according to the present embodiment is also included in the scope of the present invention. The information providing system 1 may include a mobile terminal having the same function as the in-vehicle device 11 instead of the in-vehicle device 11.

Further, in addition to the above-described examples, the network 13 in the present embodiment includes an ad hoc network, a LAN (Local Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a cellular network, a WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network), and a PSTN (Public Switched). Telephone Network, Terrestrial Wireless Network, Optical Network or other networks or any combination thereof. The components of the wireless network include, for example, access points (for example, Wi-Fi access points), femtocells, and the like. Further, the wireless communication device can be connected to a wireless network using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), cellular communication technology, or other wireless technology and technical standards in addition to Bluetooth (registered trademark).

Thus, the various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in many different aspects, all of which are within the scope of this embodiment.

1: Information providing system, 10: Server, 11: In-vehicle device

Claims (11)

In an information providing system including a server and an in-vehicle device that transmits and receives information to and from the server,
The in-vehicle device is
An imaging unit for imaging the surroundings of the vehicle,
A first transmission unit that transmits position information and captured image data to the server,
The server is
A removal status information generation unit that generates removal status information including a position of a road obstacle and a predicted time taken to remove the road obstacle based on the captured image data;
A second transmission unit for transmitting the removal status information,
The removal status information transmitted from the server is output to another in-vehicle device,
Information provision system. In claim 1,
The removal status information generation unit updates the predicted time based on a change with time of the captured image data,
Information provision system. In claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle-mounted device further includes a navigation unit that guides a route according to the removal status information.
Information provision system. A receiving unit that receives, from the in-vehicle device, captured image data and position information of a captured image around the vehicle that is captured by the in-vehicle device in a predetermined vehicle condition,
A removal status information generation unit that generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle based on the captured image data;
And a transmitter that transmits the removal status information to another in-vehicle device,
server. In claim 4,
The removal status information generation unit updates the predicted time based on a change with time of the captured image data,
server. An image capturing unit that captures an image around the vehicle when the vehicle is in a predetermined state,
A transmitter for transmitting the position information and the captured image data to the server,
Based on the captured image data, the server generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, the removal status information is transmitted to another in-vehicle device, and the other in-vehicle device performs the removal. The removal status information is output,
In-vehicle device. A receiving unit that receives, from the server, removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, which is generated based on captured image data received from another on-vehicle device by the server,
An output unit that outputs the removal status information,
In-vehicle device. A vehicle comprising the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 6. For in-vehicle devices,
A procedure for imaging the surroundings of the vehicle in a predetermined vehicle state,
Execute the procedure for transmitting the position information and the captured image data to the server,
Based on the captured image data, the server generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, the removal status information is transmitted to another in-vehicle device, and the other in-vehicle device performs the removal. The removal status information is output,
program. For in-vehicle devices,
A procedure for receiving, from the server, removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle, which is generated based on captured image data received from another vehicle-mounted device in the server,
And a procedure for outputting the removal status information,
program. In an information providing method using a server and an in-vehicle device that transmits and receives information to and from the server,
The in-vehicle device is
Image around the vehicle,
Sending location information and captured image data to the server,
The server is
Generates removal status information including a predicted time taken to remove a road obstacle based on the captured image data,
Send the removal status information,
Another in-vehicle device outputs the removal status information transmitted from the server,
Information provision method.

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